Cigarette feed for packers



Nov. 9, 1943. c. ARELT CIGARETTE FEED FOR PACKERS Filed May 4, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 9, 1943. c. ARELT CIGARETTE FEED FOR PACKERS Filed May 4, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CHARLES ARE LT Nov. 9, 1943. c. ARELT CIGARETTE FEED FOR PACKERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 4, 1940 INVENTOR CHARLES ARELT BY DI l ATORNEY piaci-n... 9,1m

2,334,143 crGAnE'i-ra FEED Fon Meknes Charles Arelt, Richmond Hill, N. Y., assignor to `American Machine as Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application May 4, 1940, serial No. 333,325 -y swims; .iones-s) `v'lhiiirir'ivention relatesftofcigarette f eedsvfor cigarette packing machineaits mainfobiectbeing mentioned in view, the invention consists certain constructions and combinations which will to provide 'more'eiilcient' means for feeding the cigarettes from a bulk supply o f cigarettes' into passagewaysin which the cigarettes travel in single rows to mechanismbyjwhich-they are transferred to the packing machine.

An object of the invention `is to avoid entirely the possibility for any cigarette to be crushed or damaged during the accumulationcf the complete number of cigarettes (say twenty), required .to ll a package.

Another object is to make feasible the packing of any number of cigarettes, say fromv one to twenty, as 'the case may be, and to make it possible to handle any type of cigarette, circular or be hereinafter fully described and thenparticllarlyv` pointed out in the claims hereunto appended. Y

In the accompanying drawings, which forma part of this speeincation and in which like chary y acters of reference indicate the same or like parts:

oval, and cigarettes of any desirable dimensions.

In pursuance of the above objects, it is a furtheriobiect of the invention to provide in-a clef, y

' arette feed fora packagingmechanism the combination with a bulksource of cigarette supply, such as a hopper and agitating means at the bottom of said source, of a series of passageways below said agitating means equal in number to the entire number of cigarettes in a package. and leading from said source to a position where the cigarettes-are to be gathered;l also means operating successively at said lposition to gather-cig'- arettes in lots: each corresponding in number to that ofthe cigarettes constituting a rowfin" the package,'for which'f're'ason each such lotof cig- ;arettes is designated a row'lot" for the sake vcf f Fig. 1 'is a view in front elevation of la, feed mechanism in the construction of which the present invention has been embodied:

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view inv plan of the rack arrangement which drives the agitating' rollers,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view in side elevation, and taken on a larger scale, of one of the accumulator pockets loaded with twenty 'cigaa f rettes in 7-1-6-7 order; and

g Fig. '5 is a fragmentary Vdetail view'in iront elevation of the parts shown in Fig. v4.

' storage hopper. A frame I5 secured tol rear wall I brevity These row lots are so collected that" n they are discharged from said passageways inc ie-v f.

pendently 'as between'the lots, in an assembly of such lots ci'irresponding in number and arrangement to the eventual disposition of the rows 'of l cigarettes in a package; and the invention 'pro'- vides means to transfer said assemblybodily to a'remote station fordelivery to packaging mechanism.

Among other and ancillary objects, it is an object of the present invention to provide as a novel combination with such a bulk source of cigarettes, and passageways leading therefrom, an intermittently actuated movable transfer device, such as a rotary turret having a'considerable number of holders (say twelve) each adapted to receive from the passageways the complete assemblies of cigarettes to which reference is above'made, and having means coordinated with the packaging mechanism to operate said turret,

thereby effecting the regular transfer of the y complete assemblies in response to the demands of the packaging mechanism.

visis 1 Referring to the drawings, a pedestal IIl on the bed of a cigarette machine which may be of con- 1 l ventional or othersuitable construction and which is not illustrated herein, supports a bracket f I. II which carries the side wall brackets I2 and lI3 having a fixed rear wall Il forming-the cigarette Il (see Fig, 2) supports a series of knurled or uted vagitating rollers I6 extending intojthe I storage chamber. Rollers I8 are equipped..wit h` f gearsI'I in meshwith the inclined racks id .and l- I9, and'a horizontal rack 20, saidv racks being-1A guided in suitable tracks 2I inframe I5. lA gearV -22 placed beneath and in mesh with oneofffthe ,1. vgears IIis mountedvon a shaft- 23 having v'at .itsvv l-- L opposite end a gear 24`in meshwith a'rack 25v`r` v operated from a suitable cam (not shown); of the I machine. Shaft 23 issupported by frame-I5 and the hubs 26 of a bracket 2.1 attached to thetop of frame I5. Rack-251s held in mesh with its 'e S gear 24 by a guide roller 28, Figs. 2 and v3, c'ar'f'l ried -by bracket 21.

wherebythe series of rollers IB at the left of the hopper are agitated, the rack I8 overlapping a Y gear of the center series which impartsmotion to rack 20 whereby this series of rollers receive motion. The rack I9, at the right, overlaps the end gear of the center series which imparts moi tion to the rack and'its series ofagitator rollers.

The rollers I6 supportthe cigarettes D in'the f hopperv and feed theminto the pa'ssageiil'ays'vwlal runningfrom the Aregions designatedxA, B and C (Fig. l). As alternate rollersy ofthe 4series i rotate in opposite directions, they prevent the cigarettes from sticking together, or from enterlng between the rollers two at a time or at an angle.

The passageways 29 feed the. cigarettes D to electing position into the gatherers 30 secured to the wall I4 of the hopper, said Wall being provided with openings 3| (Fig. 2) which are slightly larger in height than the diameter of the cigarettes. The'cigarettes of eachV row lot, when ejected from the gatherers 30, pass through a tube 32, extending from a holder 33 attached to wall I4, and directing its row lot into the proper section oi' one of the accumulator pockets I4 of an intermittently driven turret 35.

A cross head 36, attached to a sliding bracket 31, supports blocks 38 carrying the ejector plates 39 adapted to engage and expel the cigarettes from the gatherers 30 into the pockets of turret 35. The members 38 and 39 are omitted in Fig. 1 in order to show more clearly the assembly of the cigarettes in the gatherers 30. 'I'he bracket 31 is guided in V tracks 40 provided in the uprights extending from bracket 4| carried by wall A;

I4. Bracket 31 is provided with a forked lug 42 supporting one end of a link 43 connecting to a lever 44 pivotally mounted on a stud 45 carried by a bracket 46 secured to bracket Il The other end of lever 44 supports one end of a rod 41 connecting to an arm 48 fastened on a pivot shaft 49 (Fig. 2) carried by a. lug 50 of pedestal I 0 anda bracket 5| mounted on the bed of the machine.

The turret 35 is provided with a plurality of spaced guide slots 52 adapted to vreceive the holders 53 (Figs. 1, 4 and 5) each of which at its upper end supports a U shaped plate 54 forming the base of the accumulator pockets 34. Blocks 55 which constitute the side walls of the pockets have curved transverse surfaces 55 adapted to engage the end cigarettes of each layer to prevent the cigarettes making up each layer from being laterally displaced. .It has been found that by using a curved portion to engage the end cigarette, no damage or deformation occurs in the cigarette when it is intermittently rotated around the turret in the accumulator pocket 34. A cover 51v serves to enclose the top of the pocket and the vertical end walls 58 provide means for securing the cover to the base plate 54 by screws 59. The blocks 55 are held in place by screws 69 which pass through elongated slots 6l provided in the walls of cover 51. The blocks 55 are provided with kerfs 62 serving to carry the fiuted or corrugated divider sections 63 which 'support the cigarettes D. 'I'he luted divider sections 83 properly position each cigarette with respect to the other cigarettes carried by the accumulator pockets 34. The iluted or corrugated portions of the divider also aid in preventing the cigarette from being laterally displaced. In Fig. 4, it will .be seen that the crest of one divider section is formed opposite to a trough of an opposed divider section to minimize the opportunity for cigarettes to be placed diagonally in a row section or to b'e misplaced therein. The holders 53 have an open end slot 64 permitting adjustment of the pockets 34 so as to align the sections with respect to the gatherers 30 and when properly aligned the bolts 65 clamp the holder 53 in position. The open end slot 64 allows the accumulator pockets 34 to be quickly replaced. with pockets of different size or shape. Such changes may be readily made whenever a manufacturer wishes to package cigarettes having diameters different from those reviously packaged, or to make a package containing a number of cigarettes dierent from the number previously packaged. l

The turret 35 advances in a step by step manner and while it dwells, the cross head 38 moves inwardly causing the ejector plates 39 to engage the ends of the cigarettes in the gatherers 30 and delivers 4them into successively aligned pockets of the turret, the head 39 then retreating to its starting position, and the turret advances one pocket and dwells, whereupon the head again functions. When the electors 33 advance the cigarettes into the turret pockets, the cigarettes directly above any given row lot are held from moving by the end wall I4, and when the ejectors retreat. they are held from moving in the opposite direction by the covers 68 attached to the end of the gatherers 39. The covers 66 are provided with prongs 61 serving to guide the ejector plates 39. The seven cigarettes in the gatherer beneath the region A are delivered into the top section of the pocket, the six cigarettes in the gatherer beneath the region B passing into the center section of the succeeding'pocket and the seven cigarettes in the gatherer beneath the region C passing into the lower section of the leading pocket. It will be seen that the pocket when in position under region A will receive seven cigarettes in its upper section and as the same pocket advances to region B its center section will receive six cigarettes and when advanced to region C its lower section will receive seven cigarettes, and thus the cigarettes will be assembled in a 1-6-1 arrangement as seen in Fig. 4.

When the pockets 34 arrive at their lower vertical position, the cigarettes therein are ejected by a plunger 68 provided with vertically spaced plates 69 adapted to engage the three rows of cigarettes and push the collected cigarettes through a mouthpiece 10 into the receiving chamber (not shown) of a compactor in which they are compressed into proper shape for packing, this Aoperation being accomplished by conventional or otherwise suitable means. The plunger 68 is attached to an arm 1I sliding on rods 12 supported by a bracket 13 and pedestal I0. A stud 14 carried by arm 1| supports one end of a link 15 connecting to a. cam actuated lever 1B mounted on pivot shaft 49, and it will be seen that ejectors 39 and 69 thus have the same actuator means and will therefore operate in unison.

A block 11 secured to the rods 12 supports a U-shaped channel 18 provided with spaced rods 'I9 adapted to guide the ejectors 69.

The invention above described may be varied in construction within the scope of the claims, for the particular device selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many concrete embodi` ments of the same. The invention therefore is not to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

l. In a cigarette packaging machine, a. device for collecting cigarettes in rows from a supply comprising, a movable support; a casing adjustably mounted on said support; and a corrugated sheet metal partition mounted within said casing for separating said rows from one another and for maintaining the cigarettes making up said rows free from lateral displacement, said corrugated sheet metal partition being constructed and arranged so that the crests on one side of the corrugations are directly opposed to the troughs on the other side of said sheet metal partition.

2. In a cigarette packaging machine, a device for collecting cigarettes in rows from a. supply comprising, a movable support; a casing adjustably mounted on said support; a corrugated sheet metal partition mounted within said casing for separating said rows from one another and for maintaining the cigarettes making up said rows free from lateral displacement, said corrugated sheet metal partition being constructed and arranged so that the crests on one side of the corrugations are directly opposed to the troughs on the other side of said sheet metal partition; and curved means, conforming to the sides of a cigarette, constructed and arranged to engage the cigarettes at the end of each row to prevent the cigarettes making up the row from being laterally displaced and preventing damaging said end cigarettes. e

3. In a cigarette feed for a packaging machine, the combination with a bulk source of cigarette supply, of a series of stationary passageways below said source equal in number to the entire number of cigarettes in a package, and leading from said source to positions where the cigarettes are to be gathered, means operating successively at said positions to gather one cigarette from each passageway in three row lots corresponding in number and arrangement to its eventual position in a package wherein there are three superimposed rows having seven cigarettes in each of the two cuter rows and six cigarettes in the middle row, means to transfer said assembly bodily to a remote station for delivery to packaging mechanism, said transfer means comprising a turret provided with spaced co1- lecting devices each having three sections djsposed in a tier and each section being adapted to receive a complete row lot, and a device for delivering said row lots to three collecting devices simultaneously, said pasageways being arranged so that the six cigarette row lot will be horizontally disposed at its gathering position in horizontal and vertical alignment with the middle section of one of said collecting devices and the other two seven cigarette row lots will be disposed in oppositely inclined relation in horizontal alignment with the outer and inner sections of two collecting devices adjoining the device into which the six cigarette row lot is to be inserted, and said seven cigarette row lots being displaced radially of the turret with respect to the six cigarette row lot to be in vertical alignment with the outer and inner sections of the collecting devices to which they are to be delivered, and means to impart step by step rotation to said turret to index at each step a group of collecting devices corresponding to the total set of row lots in an assembly for a package.

CHARLES AREL'I'. 

